"Government resources—including the NBI’s time—might be better spent on going after real criminals who do real damage to the fabric of our society."
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, the mark of a true leader would be to ignore the brickbats that come with public service, and to focus on the more important tasks at hand. How do we keep people safe? And how do we create jobs for those who have lost them as a result of the pandemic?
The governor of Cavite, Jonvic Remulla, seems to understand this. In a social media post, he said there are bigger problems to solve than the gnashgabs who lurk on the internet.
"Is trash talking enough to threaten and subject netizens to an inquest? Social media is full of this. How can one discern words with ill-intent from that of a joke?" Remulla said, without referring to any particular instance.
Remulla’s own brother, Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla, had only recently asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the proliferation of video footage of him taking notes while the national anthem was being played before a congressional hearing on the renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise, calling this a case of cyber bullying.
The younger Remulla had expressed his disappointment in a letter addressed to his brother, which he posted on his Facebook account..
“We have attended countless flag ceremonies together in the capitol. We have always come on time. We have always treated people with respect. We have always stood and held our hands to our chest. That wasn’t you on the Batasan floor. You were never like that,” he said in his post.
The congressman apologized for the incident but accused “ABS-CBN people” of playing it up and circulating it on social media and asked the NBI to investigate the posts.
The governor did not refer to his brother, however—or any other politician—when he said in a separate post that there were bigger fish to fry than online smellfunguses.
“I am man enough not to be overly sensitive nor be easily offended,” the governor said. “I would rather focus on bigger problems such as effectively managing the COVID crisis, supporting education, Caviteños who have lost their jobs, transportation and unite the people by working on effective solutions towards recovery.”
We might add that government resources—including the NBI’s time—might be better spent on going after real criminals that do real damage to the fabric of our society, than to address a politician’s hurt feelings or to issue subpoenas to online critics.
The governor continued: “Dissent and varying opinions are the very fabric of our political culture. We are a better nation because we are able to freely express ourselves, responsibly.”
Governor Remulla said that in these times, leaders should listen and understand the sentiments of their people and not use an iron fist against them.
The late US President John F. Kennedy expressed a similar sentiment decades ago, when he said: “A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”